


You can make out after the play, GOD

by Alpinesorcerer, jukeboxterror, Xanthetreeman69



Category: The Lorax (2012), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: :)))), Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead and Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic Adopt Eri and Shinsou Hitoshi, Alternate Universe - Mineta Minoru Doesn't Exist, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Dadzawa, EraserMic Family, Eri is adorable, Gen, I feel maniacal, Kirishima Eijirou has a sister, Multi, None of the roles make sense, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Shinsou Hitoshi Replaces Mineta Minoru, They put on a play, chat fic, mwahahahaha, only for a very brief section though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29411556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alpinesorcerer/pseuds/Alpinesorcerer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jukeboxterror/pseuds/jukeboxterror, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xanthetreeman69/pseuds/Xanthetreeman69
Summary: 1-A is putting on a play. Some students suggest Les Miserables, others Wicked. One student suggests they put on a production of the Lorax, specifically the 2012 version.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Asui Tsuyu/Uraraka Ochako, Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, Class 1-A & Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Jirou Kyouka/Yaoyorozu Momo, Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto
Comments: 10
Kudos: 50





	1. The Lorax, 2012

**Author's Note:**

> This all started because I sent my friends an image I found of Deku as the Onceler
> 
> Also we made a playlist :)  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4SvQMKIAsXriq5z3BpN4Bb&si=0ee9efaed0314638

“Okay class, it’s today,”

Aizawa stood in front of the class, his dirty yellow sleeping bag folded over one arm, as murmurs spread through the class. There hadn’t been anything anyone could remember being planned today, not even Iida or Yaoyorozu, who acted as the class calendars. On one side of the classroom, Midoriya began anxiously chewing on a pencil as he mumbled to himself, while on the other, Sero was pulling out flashcards to practice last-minute with, roping in Kirishima and Kaminari.

As the classroom exploded into chaos, Aizawa stared at them until the students noticed and calmed down to listen to what he had to say. Ashido was still on her phone and Hagakure was still muttering to a stoic Shoji, but very few ignored the chills that Aizawa’s glare could shoot through your spine.

After a moment, he began speaking again, “We are choosing which play we’re going to put on in two months.”

The classroom erupted in conversation once again. Bakugo shouted as Yaoyorozu’s hand shot up, “What play? We’ve already done the school festival this year!” The girl self consciously folded her hand back in her lap.

“Each class is doing a play in addition to the school festival to convince the general public and the media that this is a safe, fun school rather than an academy in which the students’ lives are threatened every couple of months,”

“How’s that going to work?” Asked an exasperated looking Shinsou, who seemed to not be surprised by the whole ordeal.

“Wouldn’t better safety precautions make more sense?”  
“That makes absolutely no sense, ribbit.”  
“Revelry in the dark...”  
“Couldn’t we figure out a more normal way of gaining their approval?”

The class hushed at Aizawa’s piercing glare. “This is not up for debate. If you have problems with it, you can take it up with Principal Nezu. Now, Iida, Yaoyorozu, begin choosing the play and assigning roles. I will be asleep. If any of you wake me, we will be training extra after school.”

As Iida and Yaoyorozu moved toward the front of the room, carefully stepping over the yellow lump on the ground, people already began shouting suggestions.

“Les Miserables!” from a gleaming Aoyama.  
“Wicked!” from Sero, smiling as wide as ever.  
“Frogs!” from both Ochako and As- Tsuyu at once.  
Iida was rapidly scribbling down the suggestions on the blackboard as Yaoyorozu attempted to calm the class. They needed to be smart about this, speak one at a time, raising their hands. 

Kirishima threw a note at Bakugo’s sulking head, and Bakugo whipped around before softening once he saw who threw it. He opened the note and scowled - it was in Kaminari’s handwriting. And the contents were… questionable. Why didn’t the electric rat suggest it himself?

“The Lorax. 2012 version.” The entire class turned around to stare at Bakugo. Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero, and Ashido seemed ecstatic and passed around high fives, but everyone kept quiet for Aizawa’s (and their own) sake. Bakugo added, “But only if Deku is the Onceler and I’m the Lorax.”

It was quiet for another moment before the entire class erupted into laughter. There was utter hysterical disbelief painted on the faces of most of the children, and they watched as Bakugo's face began to turn red.

"IT WAS PIKACHU'S IDEA! BLAME THAT EXTRA. I'M ONLY DOING IT TO SHIT ON DEKU," He insisted, thrusting out the note for Jirou to read.

She read out loud to the class, "'Hey, why don't we do the Lorax? If you were the Lorax and Midoriya was the Onceler, you'd get to yell at him all you want,' in Kaminari's handwriting, and then 'I bet this idea will beat out anything Todoroki or Midoriya can come up with,' in Kirishima's."

She had to almost yell over the ever-increasing laughter of the class, before Aizawa’s deadpan voice cut through the noise, telling them to be quiet or they all get extra training. They quieted down but couldn’t quite muffle their laughter or stop the tears flowing from some of their eyes. All but Mina, who wasn’t scared of her teacher whatsoever and continued giggling long after the other students had moved on to debating the submission.

“It’s a good idea, I looked it up and there’s already a stage adaptation created that we could use. If we pay for licensing, of course,” said Todoroki, who didn’t quite understand what was so funny about this idea but absolutely loved the book as a child. You know, when he wasn’t training with Endeavor.

Sato spoke up, “I think we should probably do something a little more serious, especially considering we’re trying to convince our parents we’re doing fine.”

“But wouldn’t a play where we just have fun with it convince them we’re okay even more than something like Hamlet? If we can pull off a comedy, they’ll see we’re having fun and all,” Sero said.

“Oh, Oh! I think something more comedic would be interesting!” Hagakure added.

“Yeah! We obviously want people to take us seriously, but raising their spirits and showing them we can be normal is better for the school,” Midoriya said, the dekusquad nodding in agreement.

Yaoyorozu scrawled the suggestion on the blackboard, noticeably larger than the other entries. “Are there any more suggestions?” She asked the class, writing down four more plays before the students were out of ideas.

“Okay, everyone close your eyes and raise your hand for your top option. No voting twice. If I count more than twenty votes, we’ll need a recount and we’re short on time.” The votes were counted up, resulting in a tie between Wicked and the Lorax. They took a second vote between the two of them and the Lorax won by a single vote. 

The classroom erupted.

\---

“Alright, we have fifteen minutes of class left, let’s begin assigning roles. I’ll be taking up the role of the director, and I’ll use my own finances to fund the show. A- as long as that’s alright with everyone, of course,” Yaoyorozu asked. The students all agreed, she was definitely the most qualified for the job.

“Let’s begin with the cast. Could someone pull up a character list for the movie or theater production?” Jirou handed her her phone after a moment. “Ah, that’s quite a few roles, how would we do this…?”

Bakugo asserted once again that he had to be the Lorax and useless Deku the Onceler. The rest of the cast was a challenge, though.

After a couple of minutes of half-hearted ideas and awkward silence, Sato proposed that the people who wanted to be a part of the cast but didn’t know what roles they wanted pull roles out of a hat. The rest of the class didn’t really have any better ideas, so they hesitantly agreed.

Aoyama, Tokoyami, Tsuyu, Uraraka, Kirishima, Hagakure, and Ojiro all volunteered right off of the bat. Shoji joined hesitantly, being dragged into it by Tokoyami, and Todoroki also joined after Midoriya sent a pleading look his way.

“I’m surprised, Tokoyami. You seem way too brooding for theater,” Mina said, curiosity flashing in her eyes.

“Actually, I greatly enjoy the artform. I have been in several productions before enrolling, although UA’s strict curriculum allows for few extracurriculars,” He answered, Dark Shadow peeking over his shoulder.

On the other side of the room, Kaminari sat on Shinou’s desk. “Hey, why don’t you join? You seem like you’d be pretty good at acting. Plus, you really shouldn’t deprive the audience of that beautiful face of yours,” He punctuated this with a wink. Laying it on a little strong? Maybe, but that was really just the Denki way.

Shinsou, resting his head on one palm, gave him a small smirk. “I guess they’ll have to manage.”

“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun! Plus, you can do it with me.”

“Always a perk.”

“So you will?” He smiled, kicking his legs in the air.

“...I’ll think about it.”

“Great! Hey everybody, Shinsou and I will join in too!” Kaminari told the class.

Shinsou immediately turned to Kaminari, “What!? All I said was I’ll think about it!”

“Yeah I know, but I also know you would’ve done it anyway. I just sped up the decision making a bit.” 

“Ugh, touche.” He conceded, letting out an exasperated sigh as Kaminari beamed.

Yaoyorozu spoke up, “Great, I’ll put you both down as actors!”

\---

Aoyama took the minor role of Wesley the glowing child, a small enough role that he could also help with lighting. Tsuyu claimed the role of the fish and Tokoyami the birds. Other than the few obvious roles, none of the current cast had a role that really made sense for them, so the rest were determined through the drawing.

Todoroki was the first to step up and pull a scrap of paper from the hat. He stared at the paper for a moment before heading back to his desk. Yaoyorozu reminded him to read out his role to the class before he goes back, and he told them he was The Old Onceler.

Uraraka went next, drawing the role of the Grandmother. She seemed slightly disappointed but enthused at the idea of mochi after some rehearsals.

Then went Shoji, drawing O’Hare. Shoji, the tallest person in the class playing a tiny man, brought giggles to many of the students, but they decided not to change it. There were no take-backs in a random drawing.

Afterward was Hagakure and then Ojiro, both getting background characters meant to fill out the scenes and help sing the songs. Then Shinsou, drawing Audrey, the love interest, followed by Kirishima, encompassing all of the bears. Iida pulled the mom and everyone laughed at the thought of him playing such an energetic (and stupid) character.

Finally was Kaminari, but by then there weren’t many roles left behind. He could feel only a few more scraps of paper between his fingers as he chose one and pulled it out. His face lit up as he read it out: Ted, the main character.

He made his way to his desk, giving his squad high fives (minus Bakugo, who just snarled at him until he turned away.)

Yaoyorozu told the class to meet after school in the common area just as the last bell rang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe


	2. Sweaters and Schedules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We begin to focus on specific characters!

Momo was walking on air the entire day - she already had ideas for set designs and scenes, and she knew exactly who she wanted as her stage manager, and she’d need to convince her parents to give her a budget for it, and-

She was so lost in thought she took a solid minute to realize her girlfriend was walking beside her towards the common area.

“Hey Momo, you good?” Kyouka asked, walking in step. 

“Oh, I’m sorry I was lost in thought! What did you say?”

“I was just asking you if you were okay, you look a bit out of it today.”

“Ah, I’ve just been so excited thinking about the play! I have so many ideas! Actually, that reminds me!” Momo said, turning to face Kyouka. 

“Hmm, hit me” Kyouka responded, admiring her girlfriend's excited disposition.

“I was hoping you could be the stage manager? I trust you the most with it and I think you would excel at it! If you don’t want to, that's okay, but I would love to have you do it” Momo asked with a pleading look on her face that she knew Kyouka was soft for.

“I- I mean I guess I could do it? I have a strong feeling our other friends might struggle with it. So yes, I will be the stage manager for our production of The Lorax. Oh god, I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Kyouka answered, dragging her hands across her face.

“Great, thanks! You’re the absolute best!” Momo exclaimed, stopping to give Kyouka a hug.

“Yeah yeah, let’s just keep going,” Kyouka responded.

Momo let go and they continued walking, hand in hand. They had been dating for a couple of months now, but the exhilaration she got from being able to hug or kiss or hold Kyouka’s hand whenever she wanted hadn’t gone away. She knew it would mellow eventually, but she wasn’t certain the feeling of 'look at my girlfriend, holy crap she’s dating me, how am I so lucky' would ever go away entirely.

They arrived at the common room with about half the class already there. Uraraka, Tsuyu, Koda, and Midoriya sat around a table in the dining area, talking amongst themselves. Todoroki, Kirishima, Aoyama, Bakugo, Hagakure, and Iida were having a conversation sprawled on the couches and on the floor. The TV was on an improv comedy show no one was really listening to.

Momo and Kyouka joined the conversation on the couches, Momo crossing her legs next to Aoyama and Kyouka perched on the armrest by her girlfriend. They discussed what they remembered from the Lorax movie and tossed out ideas in case one stuck.

It took fifteen more minutes before everyone filtered in, the last one being Mina who explained that a teacher held her after class to talk about her grades. Everyone took up any available space, on the floor, on the backrest, over people’s legs and laps. This wasn’t new to them, the class had movie nights every week.

Momo began by explaining that there weren’t enough actors for the number of roles. “We don’t have to have every single person accounted for just yet, and people are absolutely doubling and tripling up on roles, but it would be helpful if other people would join soon as I want to begin rehearsals next week.”

“We could always force people to act,” supplied Midoriya, but that was met with groans and slight terror, so they moved on.

Todoroki then said, “Why don’t we simply recruit some of the teachers? I’m certain All Might and Midnight would be willing to help, and Ectoplasm’s quirk would be massively useful.”

“That sounds perfect! Who’ll go convince them then?”

They ended up having Midoriya as the liaison for All Might, Mina for Midnight, and Iida for Ectoplasm. They also debated having Present Mic for a role but discarded the idea at the thought of his booming voice and awful singing. Momo then moved on to stagehands and the tech crew.

“I already have Kyouka as my stage manager and - I assume - the person creating the tracks to sing to,” Momo said, phrasing the end as more of a question than a statement.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll need my band from the school festival if we’re going to get anything half-decent though, including you. Are we doing the songs from the movie?”

“Yes, I wanted to keep the number of musical numbers fairly low so that we can put more effort into the ones we do have, so I was just thinking of using the intro, end, and the song where the Onceler grows his company? Other than instrumentals throughout, of course.”

“Sounds good. Could the band meet from five-thirty through nine twice a week?”

“Of course, I’ll create a schedule,” Momo smiled to herself as she began writing notes down of times and dates for her to organize later. She was glad she chose Kyouka as her stage manager, they worked seamlessly together. “Alright. I was also thinking that I could simply create costumes. Do we have anyone who is any good at makeup? We’ll need two at least.”

Everyone immediately turned towards Mina, who although generally kept a fairly natural face, would occasionally come into class with elaborate and kind of impressive makeup and face paint. The girls (and a few of the guys) would often have her do their makeup before going out altogether. She was much, much worse at hair, but handling a wig couldn’t be that hard.

“Mkay!” She smiled. “Is there anyone else any good at makeup?”

Uraraka raised her hand but Tsuyu forced it back down again. Kyouka explained she was only any good at eyeliner and edgier looks. Other than that, the class was silent.

After a moment or two, Bakugo broke the silence, “Shitty Hair is good with makeup. I’ve seen him do it on his snot-nosed brat of a sister.”

“Well I mean I only do it cause it makes her happy, but it generally isn’t that manly,” Kirishima said bashfully, looking away from everyone an instead fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt.

“Bullshit, being good at shit is hella manly. Fuck gender roles, you can outdo almost everyone here.” Bakugou yelled, indignant.

“Yeah, it would be a major help. Doing everyone’s makeup by myself sounds like a bitch,” Mina added. “Plus, you have to be really good at hair and all, considering you do it every morning.”

“Please Kiri! I bet you would make me look beautiful if you did it!” Kaminari said, framing his face with his hands as if he were one of those models you’d see on magazines for teen girls.

“Hmm, I guess I’ll do it if it’s for the class. And not being there for my friends is super unmanly!” Kirishima agreed, punching his fists together in a show of bravado that Momo isn’t certain he actually felt. It was lucky Bakugo talked him into it.

“Alright, moving on, are there any other specific jobs any of you want to do?” She asked the remaining students. Sero claimed working on the ropes and Tokoyami volunteered Dark Shadow to help with the scene changes. Uraraka wanted to be the leader with making the set, her quirk coming in handy with construction. Ashido took on the role of creating the choreography as well as the person on makeup, with Kirishima helping. The rest of the students were assigned roles at random, agreeing it would be easier to get the roles assigned so they could move onto more pressing issues.

“Okay, next on the list is the movie itself. Not all of us have seen it, correct?” Momo was met with several nods. “Then we’ll all need to watch it together. Let’s do it on our weekly movie night then.”

No one had a problem with it, minus Tokoyami who said he had to do something with his mother but had already seen it. Momo suspected he simply wanted to get out of having to watch that monstrosity once more, but she wasn’t going to put up a fight. He was only playing the birds and a few background roles anyway. 

With that, everything Momo could do until rehearsals could actually begin had been done. She had been in one real production outside of class before (although only because her parents paid for her to get in), but now she was the director of a whole production! She dismissed the class and headed toward her room, head still swimming with ideas.

\---

It was Friday and Tsuyu was tired. She was wrapped in a blanket and she had her best wool sweater and socks on, but it was winter and the dorm heater was broken and she couldn’t do much but yawn and try to keep her eyes open. She considered leaving for somewhere warmer, but movie night was twenty minutes off and she couldn’t think of anywhere close enough to go where she wouldn’t be late.

However, she was going to fall asleep and miss the movie at this rate. She considered using rubber bands - how she kept awake when she had to be out in the cold - but she realized she could simply find Ochako, who would not only keep her awake but probably fuss over her constantly, the thought of which alone brought a welcome warmth to her face.

Tsuyu told it as she saw it. She knew she had a crush on her friend. And she knew her friend was interested in Izuku. She wouldn’t deny either fact if asked. It’s just that no one has asked. She certainly didn’t avoid the topic whenever possible. Tsuyu doesn’t avoid topics.

And it’s not like it mattered now. What mattered was that Tsu was cold and she needed not to be.

She made her way down to the floor below hers and knocked on the door, familiar with the action. She had done this so many times by now that her feet automatically took her to the door when she came to this floor. When Tsuyu wasn’t paying attention, she more than once had found herself there even when she meant to be going somewhere else. She counted herself lucky that she hadn’t done it with people around.

Tsu waited about a minute before the door opened.

“Hey, Ocha-” She cut herself off as she realized it wasn’t Ochako but Izuku greeting her. “Oh hi, Izuku. Is Ochako in there, ribbit?”

“Oh, hi Tsu! She is.”

Ochako poked her head out and smiled, dimples forming in her soft cheeks. “Hey Tsu! Are you coming down to the common room soon?”

On hearing her nickname said so casually by Ochako, Tsuyu felt a rush of joy, waking her up slightly. It didn’t matter if she heard it a thousand times before, from her and everyone else, the way she said it felt… intimate, in a way Tsuyu couldn’t describe. Like it was just for her somehow. She wanted to hear her say it again. 

“Yes, I was just cold and wanted to come down with you before I fell asleep, ribbit. Are you busy?” She asked, glancing over at Izuku, who shifted himself so that Ochako was in front of him.

“No! Here, you can take my jacket, let’s brew you a cup of hot chocolate before the movie starts. I really need to ask Yaomomo to create you a heater for your room in case the heater’s broke like today…” She trailed off as she gathered her phone and jacket from around her room.

Tsuyu turned her attention to the clearly nervous boy who met her intense stare hesitantly. “Why are you here then?” 

He jumped ever so slightly at her addressing him. “We were doing homework! That’s all.”

She pointedly looked at the room behind them and then back at Izuku, saying, “There aren’t any books or papers. And you never go without that notebook of yours when there’s a chance at learning something about heroes, ribbit.” Tsuyu felt a pit start to form in her stomach. She kept her face blank.

Ochako finally finished getting her belongings together and walked out of the room, handing the girl her jacket. “Don’t listen to him, he’s a bad liar. We were just talking.”

“About what?” The pit solidified. Tsuyu wrapped the jacket closer to her, savoring the smell that lingered on it - vanilla and peaches - to ward the sudden dread off.

“Crushes.”

Ochako didn’t elaborate. Tsuyu didn’t press.

They reached the common area, talking about schoolwork and classmates and easy subjects they didn’t have to think about. Tsuyu found that most of the class was already there, making popcorn and looking up which streaming service had the movie. Ochako broke away to make Tsu her hot chocolate and Izuku called out to Yuga, who was doing… something with cheese. 

The girl curled up on the couch, tucking her arms into her sweater. She yawned big, stretching out her long tongue as if she were a cat rather than a frog. The pit in her stomach - dread and pining and jealousy - only sought to make her feel colder. Tsuyu was lucky she didn’t emote much.

“Tsu, are you feeling cold? I hadn’t seen you yawn like that since I caught you in the rain in only a t-shirt,” came a voice from her left. It was Toru, bracelets jangling as metal hit metal. Toru kept herself covered in as much clothing and accessories as she could - long sleeves and hats and rings and gloves and anything else - so that people could make out her form and read her body language despite her invisibility. Tsuyu felt bad for the poor girl. She couldn’t imagine a childhood of being accidentally ignored as she almost definitely was.

She nodded towards the girl, explaining that Ochako was helping her anyway and she’d warm up soon, so there was no need to worry about her really. They settled into an easy conversation, Eijiro and Tenya joining them. 

Before Tsuyu knew it, she was holding a cup of hot chocolate with a mountain of whipped cream piled on it and sitting next to Ochako, who she didn’t dare lean on, as the movie began. Momo and Kyouka were in front, scribbling notes and murmuring to each other. The bakusquad were talking loudly to one another, inviting occasional insults and small explosions from their namesake. Izuku was ranting to a clearly overwhelmed Koji about a new line of All Might merchandise that was announced. Shoto, who was trying to watch the movie seriously, had to turn on the subtitles because of the noise. Her and Ochako’s knees were touching ever so slightly.

Tsuyu took a sip. She felt warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lesbeans


	3. Rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya - Deku Scrub  
> Hagakure - Camo Print  
> Yaoyorozu - Dictionary  
> Ashido - Alien Queen  
> Iida - Sonic but smart??  
> Shinsou - Coffee flavored Aizawa  
> Sero - FLEX tape  
> Ojiro - Kung Fu Fighting  
> Todoroki - IcyHot  
> Kaminari - Ryan Reynolds' Detective Pikachu

Hitoshi came through the door and kicked off his shoes. A few seconds of silence went by before he heard rapid tiny footsteps growing louder and louder. Eri tried to turn the corner, but she had socks on and was going too fast to change direction. She fell, hopped up again, and rammed into Shinsou before he could ask if she was alright. 

“Toshi! Look at what I have!” Eri thrust something in Hitoshi’s hand, hopping excitedly in place. He opened his hand to a few dice, all marbled red and purple, all with a different number of sides. They were roleplaying dice.

“Where’d you get these?” Hitoshi asked as Hizashi strolled in and yelled a far-too-loud hello.

“I found Papa and Dad playing something with Nemuri, Ken, Nezu, and Ecto, so I asked what they were playing. They said they’d teach it to me and gave me these.” She suddenly turned away from him and ran up the stairs, leaving a bemused Hitoshi in her wake.

He blinked his confusion away before turning to Hizashi. “You never told me you guys play d&d.” 

“Oh yeah we do, I guess we just forgot to tell ya, whoops,” Hizashi said.

“Wow, and I thought I was a nerd. I never would’ve guessed someone like Dad would play a game like that,” Hitoshi replied with a smug grin thinking about his dad getting all excited over what his character would do.

“Yeah, it’s pretty crazy especially since he was the one that got us all into it-”

“WHAT??” Hitoshi yelled, staring at Hizashi with a bemused look on his face. The idea of him playing was already strange enough, but him being the one to start it broke Hitoshi’s mind just a bit.

“Heh, yeah crazy right? Hey, you alright kid?” Hizashi asked while waving his hand in front of Hitoshi’s face to get his attention.

“I’m just… going to lie down and think about what you’ve told me…” Hitoshi murmured, shuffling up to his room to ponder the new information he learned.

“Okay, bye honey. When Shota gets home we’re eating dinner alright?” Hizashi yelled up to Hitoshi. A muffled “Alright,” could be heard from his room.

Shota and Hizashi had adopted Hitoshi a couple of years ago and Eri more recently, and since then they’ve become a closer-knit family than he ever could have hoped for. He honestly thought he’d rot away at an institution until he turned eighteen and then tossed to the streets with no support - it was a major reason he aspired to be a hero in the first place. If you get into a school like UA, you’re both more likely to get adopted and have a future secured for you. 

He was lucky. He was lucky he found people that loved him, he was lucky he got into the hero course, he was lucky the people there didn’t see him as a destined villain about to snap. He was endlessly lucky and endlessly ungrateful and endlessly-

He stopped that train of thought. He needed to ask Dad for a therapist soon.

Hitoshi lived in the dorms, of course, but he spent Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon at his dads’ house. It wasn’t as though he didn’t see them otherwise, all three of his family members were at UA more often than not, but it was nice to actually have dinner or play board games with them.

That particular night they were having fettuccine alfredo, made by Hizashi. Hitoshi was relieved - Shota was certainly getting better at cooking, but the boy looked forward to a meal that was ready on time and had a proper amount of seasoning. 

From his room, Hitoshi heard the front door close, signaling the arrival of his dad. He hopped up from his bed, where he was doing homework and texting his friends at the same time, and made his way down to the dining room. Sure enough, Hizashi and Eri were already sitting at the table and heaping steaming pasta onto their plates.

  
Hitoshi reached his chair and waited for Eri to determine she had enough, before taking the ladle and scooping himself some. It smelled delicious.

Shota came into the room a couple of minutes later as the rest of them talked about how their day went and piled on more pasta than any of the rest. You wouldn’t think it, considering how gangly the man looks, but his appetite is absolutely massive. Hitoshi had seen him put away three entire pizzas in one sitting. It kind of terrified him.

As they went on with dinner, the conversation turned to the class play.

“So I’m stuck as the girl - what’s her name? Doesn’t matter - and I don’t know how to act. Ugh, I never should have listened to Kaminari, that bastard, but if you saw his puppy dog eyes-”

“Toshi!” Eri cut him off, stretching her hand above her head as high as it could go.

He chuckled as she almost fell out of her chair in excitement. “Yes, Eri?” He smiled fondly.

Once she righted herself, she said, “Can I join the class play?”

The question caught Hitoshi off guard. She wanted to join the class play?

“It, well, it is a class play, those are usually for students…” He trailed off as he watched her face fall. Her eyes shifted from his face down to her plate, her eyebrows scrunched together, her mouth pulled tight.

Damn, Hitoshi was weak.

“Well, I suppose some of the teachers will be participating, so I don’t see why not.”

And just like that, Eri’s face changed from one of resignation to one of elation. She jumped out of her chair and hugged him tight around his waist, spilling some pasta in the process. Right then he knew he would do absolutely anything to make her smile. His classmates would just have to deal.

\---

Deku Scrub:

All Might’s agreed

Camo Print:

nice

Dictionary:

Okay good

@Alien Queen, @Sonic but smart??, what about your assigned teachers?

Alien Queen:

oh yeah, midnight’s agreed

sorry i forgot to say

Sonic but smart??:

I have not yet asked Ectoplasm, I’ll attempt it on Monday.

Coffee flavored Aizawa:

Oh by the way

So Eri, Aizawa, and Present Mic all have to be part of the play now

FLEX tape:

That’s adorable, but why?

Coffee flavored Aizawa:

Not totally sure, all I know is Eri wants to be in it and I just couldn’t say no.

Deku Scrub: 

I’m surprised u got Mr. Aizawa and Present Mic to do it

Coffee Flavored Aizawa:

Nah that was all Eri, she wanted them to join her and they just couldn’t say no

It was quite endearing actually 

Dictionary:

Well if they want to be in it, then three people are going to have to drop out

Camo Print:

I’m okay with dropping out, I don’t have a significant role, and would be more helpful doing other things. Ojiro probably wouldn’t mind either

@Kung Fu Fighting you okay with dropping being an actor?

Kung Fu Fighting:

What, uh sure ig

Dictionary:

Alright, we still need one more person to drop a role

IcyHot: 

I can drop out.

I’m already two characters. 

It would be easier if I were one anyway.

I don’t need to be one of the parents 

Dictionary:

Okay, I’ll write these all down

Alien Queen:

dude how perfect is that?? the whole family dropping out for an actual family to play them

life is crazy like that huh

Ryan Reynolds’ Detective Pikachu:

@everyone hey guess what??

Deku Scrub:

Yes?

FLEX tape:

Huh what

Sonic but smart??:

What is it Kaminari?

Ryan Reynolds’ Detective Pikachu:

Well a little birdie, or more like a little mushroom, told me her class was doing Mike Myers’ Cat in the Hat as their school play 

Alien Queen:

dfsihoeiyoesiyogiutr

NO WAY

Camo Print:

That’s so funny omg

Kung Fu Fighting: 

I wonder if they took inspiration from us?

Ryan Reynolds’ Detective Pikachu:

alright that’s all I wanted to say

also Eri is a genius 

PEACE

Coffee Flavored Aizawa:

Bye

Dictionary:

Okay, so now we have Mr. Aizawa, Present Mic, and Eri as the family during the “Let it Grow” song

Shinsou, please remember to remind them to come to rehearsals

Coffee Flavored Aizawa:

You got it boss-lady

\---

Shoto checked his phone. It read Monday, 4:03. He glanced at the door again. Nothing.

He was waiting for the front entrance to the theater to open, or at least for the door to unlock. It was only three minutes past, but Shoto prefers when people are timely. He checked his notifications just to have something to do, not surprised when he didn’t have any. He only really used his phone to text and call people, and he didn’t have many people to contact anyway.

The clock reached 4:07. He was getting slightly annoyed now. Wouldn’t Iida at least be on time? He began daydreaming.

4:14. He checked that he had the right time. He did.

It was 4:20 (nice) before he felt someone tap on his shoulder. Shoto turned around to find Midoriya, smiling at him softly.

“We’re meeting up in the blackbox, not the stage,” He said, already guiding Shoto to the proper location.

“Ah, I must have missed that. Thank you for telling me, Midoriya,” He answered, falling into step with the boy.

“It’s no problem, they sent me to come get you. And I already told you, please call me Izuku.”

“Right. I forgot.”

“You seem to be forgetting a lot of things recently,” Midoriya- er, Izuku said with a smile. The look in his eye seemed to be asking a question, but what it was, Shoto didn’t know. He wished he knew how to read people better, but he figured years of isolation from peers will do that to you.

Not knowing how to respond, they walked in silence for a minute or two before Izuku launched into a one-sided conversation about nothing. He could talk for hours with no input at all, his tangents inconsequential and his analyses thorough and hard to follow. One would think this would irritate Shoto, and maybe it would have if it had been if it were anyone else. But he looked down at Izuku, radiating enthusiasm, putting his heart and soul into every word, and couldn’t help but smile.

He had never seen someone who felt every emotion as strongly as Izuku did. When the boy was happy, his smile could outshine anyone, rivaling even Sero’s. When he was sad, he cried more heavily and sincerely than he’d ever seen a person cry before. When he was angry, he was downright terrifying. Each emotion was genuine and raw and unique in its brilliance.

Shoto found himself cataloging his friend’s emotions, saving each in his mind like a scrapbook. They were too vivid - almost awe-inspiring - not to. He felt a strange urge to see and capture them all.

Shoto realized he hadn’t listened to a word Izuku had been saying and instead was quite awkwardly staring at him as they walked. Luckily, it didn’t seem as though he noticed, continuing to talk about some hero or another. 

He made a sweeping gesture with his hands and turned to look at Shoto, presumably to make sure he was still listening. After a second of eye contact, he smiled again, and a warm, sticky feeling rose from Shoto’s stomach and into his throat. He was pretty certain that this wasn’t a feeling friends normally made you feel, but he supposed that everything about Izuku was extraordinary anyway. Of course _he_ could conjure up this thick, sappy fullness in him.

They reached the blackbox and entered, where everyone was already discussing the play. Yaoyorozu and Jirou were creating a chart and taking notes, Iida was talking to each person individually and reporting back to Jirou, and Mina and Kirishima were bent over a laptop, muttering to each other. The teachers were there as well, including Ectoplasm. Iida must have managed to convince him. Shoto noticed Eri having a conversation with Sero, of all people. Izuku left him to go join it. Bakugo growled, “Where the fuck were you, half and half?” a little too loudly once he had noticed him standing there.

At this, Yaoyorozu capped her marker, turned around, and clapped her hands together excitedly. “You’re just in time! I’ll need about another three minutes to finish up here and then we’ll read through the script together.”

Iida handed him a stack of hole-punched papers and a three-ring binder to put them in while confirming that he’d brought a pencil and a highlighter with him. He also briefed Shoto on what they were doing - the cast would be reading the script through and beginning rehearsing the scene where Ted and O’Hare face-off, while everyone else (for the most part) began constructing the set, with Ochako as the leader. 

Iida began talking about the next rehearsal and the schedule down the line, too much for Shoto to process at once, but after a couple of minutes Yaoyorozu finished up whatever she was doing and called for everyone to split off in their groups. The cast and director would stay in the blackbox, while the stage manager and most of the crew would head towards the stage.

As it turned out, very few of them were any good at acting. It was the first day, and it was only a script reading. That didn’t change the fact that Shoto was completely monotone throughout all of his lines.

Shoji spoke in a similar drab way, without any real emotion to it. Izuku wasn’t very good at portraying any emotion he didn’t really feel. Tokoyami overacted his chirping if that were possible - which was odd considering he said he’d been in plays before. Iida spoke almost robotically, his distaste for the character showing on his face. Present Mic was too loud, Eri was too quiet, and Midnight had something to her voice that made Shoto uncomfortable. Only Uraraka, Bakugo, and Aoyama were any good at all.

Of course, Shoto didn’t know much about theater and he didn’t know much about people. But even he didn’t miss Yaoyorozu’s winces and quick pen strokes.

Towards the middle of the reading, they noticed that the Lorax would have to give mouth-to-mouth to the Onceler after he supposedly almost drowns as a gag. There was a good amount of screaming on Bakugo’s part and Izuku seemed like he was about to die of embarrassment. Shoto noticed that Kirishima continuously flexed in and out of his hardening with a look just as hard on his face.

Shoto didn’t really understand why the boy seemed so upset - it wasn’t like he had to kiss Izuku. But Shoto didn’t really understand why he was gripping his chair so ferociously or why ice began crawling up his sleeve, either. They ended up cutting that part.

After they had finished, Yaoyorozu seemed much less enthused than she had been before. She opened her mouth to say something - probably to praise them and shepherd them to the next step - when Aoyama stood up. He watched them all for a few seconds, moving from face to face, before saying the following words: “Minus Uraraka and Bakugo, I must say that the lot of you are, pardon my French, complete shit.”

His face hadn’t changed throughout the entire proclamation, staying that sparkling if off-putting smile. He stood there for a moment longer, before abruptly sitting back down again. The silence was deafening.

Yaoyorozu sighed and with her best ‘we can do it!’ smile, assured them, “What Aoyama means is we have a lot of work to do. But it’s class 1-A. If we can fight villains, we can make a decent school play.” She hesitated for a moment, before asking Aoyama, “Would you mind- I know this shouldn’t be your job at all, and you’d have to do it outside of rehearsal time, but could you maybe work with them? At least as a group, if not individually?”

Aoyama gleamed at the proposition, and Yaoyorozu began scribbling down another note, presumably one on the scheduling of such a time.

Shoto groaned inwardly. This would be absolute hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This production will only not be a trainwreck cause Momo's directing it


	4. The Sound of Music

The band had been practicing for two hours by now and needed dinner before they could start again. They met up in Momo’s house, as she had an entire music room and a chef to make them dinner while they played. Momo was bouncing off the walls for the opportunity to spoil her friends.

The band - Kyouka, Momo, Denki, Tokoyami, and Bakugo - had been meeting up on the weekends since the school festival, playing whatever they agreed on. As such, they had gotten significantly better, both as a team and as individuals. Their weekly rehearsals were now replaced by practicing for the play twice a week. They had already finished the track for the opening song and were now working on How Bad Can I Be.

They planned to record instrumentals for the songs and then play them during the production for the actors to sing over live. Because three of the members were part of the show, a live band would be out of the question. Kyouka hoped it would end up sounding okay.

Kyouka followed Momo’s lead, walking in step with her along the open hallways and expensive furniture. Their hands brushed occasionally, sending thrills through her and making her yearn for the contact once the space between them grew. She took her girlfriend’s - she gets to call beautiful, smart Momo her girlfriend! - hand and gave it a squeeze.

They had been dating for only a few months, barely a blip, and yet Jirou was certain, as she stared at the way Momo’s hair bounced with her step and her eyes shined with ideas, that she was in love.

The windows were large and meant to let in sunlight during the morning, the comfortable armchairs set up so the light would be cast onto your book as you read. The mansion was modern but without being monochrome or feeling fake - whoever designed it knew what they were doing.

Kyouka couldn’t imagine living in a place like this.

Both of her parents are musicians - fairly successful ones as well. She lived in comfort and got an allowance she could save up for whatever she wanted to buy. However, her home was so far removed from this - rooms upon rooms, a diamond chandelier over a grand staircase, mahogany tables, and silk curtains. A staff - an actual staff! - to cook the food and clean the messes.

The first time she had come, Kyouka was awestruck and she was excited. Kyouka was proud and amazed at her girlfriend. Kyouka slid her hand across the antiques and tapestries in wonder. And Kyouka was - just barely - envious.

It was a sour feeling that churned her stomach, and she did best to shove down inside of her and ignore it. But sometimes it crept up suddenly, like now.

They had entered the dining room, where a perfectly cooked and still steaming filet mignon sat waiting for them. Momo scurried off to brew them some tea to go with the meal. Apparently, she preferred to make it herself. Kyouka gave her a small smile as she excused herself.

“Holy shit dude, they treat us like royalty here!” exclaimed Denki, who apparently also wasn’t used to the sheer grandeur of this place despite the number of times he’s visited.

“I know, it feels so surreal every time we’re here,” Kyouka said looking down at her perfectly made plate in a quiet sort of awe.

“I must agree, it is quite strange being pampered like this,” Tokoyami added, starting to stuff some food in his beak.

Denki looked over at Bakugo, “Hey Bakubro, what do you think about all this?”

Bakugo scoffed, “Eh? I’d rather not be fuckin’ treated like a spoiled brat, but the food is alright.”

They talked a while longer, the conversation drifting from Momo’s opulent lifestyle to how their practices were going. Kyouka advised Bakugo on keeping a steady tempo rather than speeding up as he tended to do, and gave Denki and Tokoyami a couple of tips on how she manages a couple fairly hard chords they had to do.

Right then, Momo entered the room with a tray of tea, intricate fine china for each person. She explained to them what super expensive variety of tea from what part of the world she’d decided to share with them today, and Kyouka committed it to memory for her to add to her list of teas that Momo likes later. She was keeping a list so she could surprise the girl during special occasions.

They thanked Momo and began eating again. Kyouka would have felt a little ashamed of having started eating before Momo could join them, but her girlfriend made it clear on a previous occasion she didn’t mind. Besides, here they eat later than Kyouka’s family normally does, so she was pretty hungry.

They settled back into easy conversation, going from their current music and how they can improve to the songs still left to learn.

“How are the other songs coming?” Momo inquired, looking at her with a softness that made her melt. Honestly, why was she so cute in the most arbitrary of moments?

After recovering from that blow to her heart, Kyouka responded with, “Alright. It’s been really tough converting all the songs and instrumentals into something that can be played with just our instruments and still be recognizable. I’ve been having to modify a shit ton. Some of the stuff I have to replace completely. By the way, if we end up not using one of these for whatever reason, I think I’m going to strangle someone.”

Momo and Denki both laughed at her frustration, the traitors. She was hyper-aware of Momo’s knee-knocking into her own as she chuckled. Tokoyami muttered something about a mad banquet of darkness, but he couldn’t hide the small smirk forming on his - well, his beak, she supposed. Bakugo tried to hide a snort by glowering at the table, which- honestly, that man is somehow so simple and so unreadable. She didn’t know how Kirishima seemed to always know what he was thinking.

After they had finished their meal and made their way back to the music room, Kyouka had them play her version of How Bad Can I Be once again, pointing out Bakugo’s failure to keep a consistent speed and Momo’s being slightly off-rhythm before going through it once more. She really hoped they could make something decent in time.

\---

It was decided that Toru would teach the actors their music. Normally it would have been Jirou, but she was preoccupied with her various jobs to step in. It came as a bit of a surprise to the others that she could sing as well as she could, but she was used to preconceptions about her because of how well she faded into the background. Only Tsuyu and Ochako even knew she played the flute.

Which was fine. She was used to it.

Toru began handing out sheet music to the cast. They were standing in a semicircle around the piano on the stage, half-finished set pieces still around them. There were even the beginnings of stairs leading to an opening in the wall high above the audience, where a room you could only reach using ladders was hidden.

Toru wasn’t sure how many people even knew how to read sheet music, but it didn’t really matter. The main thing was the lyrics, anyway.

She finished her rounds by handing a copy to Yaomomo at the piano, who would act as their accompanist. Toru may be able to play the flute, but if she couldn’t use her voice while playing an instrument, it was essentially useless in teaching. She was ready to begin.

Toru went very briefly over posture and form, correcting Tsu’s slouching as she went. She knew fixing the girl’s posture would be a Herculean task, but she let herself dream anyway. Toru then covered breathing - how, when, where in your chest - and tried not to get too discouraged at the looks of confusion she was getting.

With the bare essentials out of the way, Toru then moved on to simple warmups that would hopefully drive those points home. She used the ones she remembered from taking choir in middle school, a sweet one about sleeping kitties and one of complete gibberish. Yaomomo quickly caught on to the melody and formulated accompaniments for both. She’d do great having this as a job. 

Toru saw that the actors were, well, they had a lot to learn when it came to singing. There were several very good singers, including Shinsou, Midoriya, Kaminari and Aoyama, and many were pretty decent ones, such as Iida, Tokoyami, Tsu, Shoji, and Midnight. Even little Eri did pretty well for her age, and her sweet face could cover a multitude of sins. However, Toru couldn’t help but notice that Uraraka didn’t seem to have a very good grasp of pitch. Nor did Todoroki for that matter. Bakugo’s voice seemed inclined far more heavily to the heavy metal genre of music rather than the pop they would be tackling. Present Mic yelled more than sang, and Kirishima had no sense of rhythm whatsoever. All Might just didn’t have the voice for it. Aizawa was simply so dry and monotone that even when he hit the notes it still felt flat somehow. 

She had a lot of work to do.

After the repeat-after-me warmups had finished, Toru moved on to their actual music. They were working on Let It Grow first, as that was the only song the entire cast was singing. It took Yaomomo a couple of minutes to scour the music so she’d be ready to play with them with minimal mistakes, and Toru saw a few other students scanning it as well - namely Bakugo, Tokoyami, and Aoyama. She supposed two of them were in the band created for the school festival. If she remembered correctly, Kaminari was part of the band too, but she guessed he was too busy talking with Kirishima.

Once Yaomomo had finished, Toru had each section she worked with repeat the melody after her, using ‘la’ rather than actual words. They did this a couple of times, until she allowed them to sing along to the piano instead. The sopranos were doing fantastic, having the melody, but the altos and mezzos were struggling. It was a little difficult to keep time and give visual cues despite the elbow-length gloves she brought specifically for this occasion.

The biggest issue was that, other than a few notable exceptions, the actors refused to sing loudly. They withered into themselves, trying not to draw attention, trying to be the smallest people there. She was going to have to fix that.

“Now listen up!” Toru exclaimed over the mumbling of students. She waved her hand almost wildly to get their attention, only stopping when all eyes were once again on her. “You guys are afraid. Afraid of being looked at. You all are caving into yourselves and some of you I can barely hear.”

A couple of students began interrupting in protest, but she shut them down quickly with a hand held out in front of her. “Bakugo, Aoyama, I’m not really talking to you guys. I meant as a whole, as a choir, you all aren’t going to cut it like this. You have to sing big. Project. Put all of your energy, all of the emotion of the song into your performance. Make your voices heard from the back of the theater. You guys are actors. Your entire job is to be heard!”

Toru ended her proclamation by bringing her arms around in an arc before settling them on her waist. She knew the importance of being seen. She knew the dangers of fading into the background, becoming an afterthought, even with the exceptional amount of talent the person might have. And she knew both her teachers and her classmates didn’t.

Present Mic yelled, “She’s right, little-listeners. You gotta be LOOOUUD for the audience ya dig?” in agreement. Midnight nodded enthusiastically and Aoyama gave an approving “ Ça a du sens, Hagakure.” 

Toru smiled wide, feeling her eyes crinkle at the corners, although she knew no one could see it. She clapped her hands together and had the cast run through the song again, once again on ‘la’, emphasizing how much louder and more energetic each singer needed to be. And again. And again and again, until none of them even needed microphones to be heard clearly throughout the theater, until she found them smiling and swaying and feeling the music until finally, they allowed themselves to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so my professional take: Hagakure's a band kid

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Our tumblrs:  
> xanthetreeman69  
> jukeboxterror  
> alpinesorcerer  
> gracie-gracieeeee


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